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September 4, 2026
Photo by Mateo Castillo, Orlando Life
CITRUSMRKET Takes Its Creative Community Beyond the Market
From its inception, CITRUSMRKET has aimed to bring together different parts of Orlando’s creative culture, mixing fashion, music and art. When Orlando Life first covered CITRUSMRKET in May, fashion was at the center of the story. Vendors, bold styling and a crowd dressed to be seen had turned the budding market into a gathering place for Orlando creatives.
A few months later, CITRUSMRKET is expanding beyond the market floor through After Hours, a series of music-focused events designed to give emerging Orlando DJs an audience.
For its latest installment, CITRUSMRKET partnered with Red Bull to host an open-decks showcase at Grape and the Grain. Roughly 40 to 50 DJs applied for just six spots behind the decks.
“The mission of CITRUSMRKET is platforming creatives,” co-founder Damian Jimenez-Lazarte told Orlando Life. “In the same vein, we wanted to create another series of events that platforms musical artists and gives them a showcase and an audience.”
Photo by Mateo Castillo, Orlando Life
Photo by Mateo Castillo, Orlando Life
Photo by Mateo Castillo, Orlando Life
That mission has been part of CITRUSMRKET from the beginning. Jimenez-Lazarte described the original idea as a response to Orlando’s need for a “third space,” somewhere outside home and work where artists, entrepreneurs and other creatives could gather around more than one discipline.
According to Jimenez-Lazarte, CITRUSMRKET now draws around 1,500 people per market, while After Hours events attract approximately 400 to 500 guests depending on the venue.
But the team doesn't choose DJs based solely on technical perfection.
“We’re looking for a curated piece of what’s going on at the moment,” Jimenez-Lazarte said. “Culture, Orlando, city life, a good combination of all that.”
The backgrounds of CITRUSMRKET's three co-founders offer some insight into that approach.
Co-founder Jaggar Nicholson brought experience in luxury clothing, Tiano Valmyr worked in photography and editorial direction through Strike Magazine, and Jimenez-Lazarte built his career through graphic design and creative direction.
Jimenez-Lazarte sees an opportunity in where Orlando is today and the role local creatives can play in what comes next. “There are hubs already built and established, like New York, L.A., Chicago,” he said. “But Orlando is yet to be made, and what I want creatives here to understand is that as the ones on the ground floor, we’re the ones who get to build that.”
It’s a perspective that helps explain what CITRUSMRKET is trying to build. What started as a place for Orlando’s fashion community to gather is now creating room for musicians and other creatives as well.
“Things are happening here, now,” Jimenez-Lazarte said. “Culture and art are being defined in Orlando right now. This is our moment.”
Photo by Mateo Castillo, Orlando Life
